2d
by Qwisse
Summary: Ruins lay where your home has once been. Former enemies by your side, traitors among allies. Past secrets lying one step away. ...Why do you think so much about it? Why do you care? You know the answer; you are still alive, and it can only mean that the game isn't over yet.
1. 1-1 Too Fast

**Author's Note:**

The universe is a mix of SatAM (somewhere between episodes 18 and 21) and games. Many things that seem strange at first will make sense as the story unfolds, Robotnik's role being among them. More info will appear on my profile page.

**Disclaimer:** SEGA owns the characters used in this story. The storyline belongs to me.

* * *

**Part 1: Underdogs.**

**1. Too Fast.**

.w.

_The Great Forest_

_September 8th, 3236_

_Early morning_

The forest was still waking up from its slumber at this hour. This far away from Robotropolis with its choking smokes and toxic wastes, the plant life still was as lush and healthy as it had been decades ago, before the tyrant had decided to claim the planet. It almost pleaded for an early wanderer to slow down, take in the beautiful landscape and take a deep breath of sweet air. Such wonders were becoming harder and harder to find on Mobius with every passing year.

A series of rustles broke the sleepy silence; it was when an unremarkable cluster of bushes shuddered as a robot made its way through them. A seasoned Freedom Fighter would identify it as a SWATbot at first, and frown in puzzlement seconds later. Something was visibly off with its look. The robot's normally bulky and clumsy frame looked slim and agile, for a change matching the battle machine's original purpose. It looked smaller, and the metal making its armor was painted with green and brown to merge into the forest background better.

Knowing that single SWATbots rarely wandered around in the forest alone, a sensible Freedom Fighter would decide it was the right time to retreat and return with some reinforcement.

Sensible fighters rarely became heroes, though.

Something in the grass caught the SWATbot's attention, and it lowered to one knee to have a better look at that particular spot. It reached forward, its metal fingers roaming through the thick greenness. Judging by the behavior alone, the bot was looking for hidden evidence of somebody's presence… or a covert path, perhaps.

A gloved hand reached out from the bushes to tap on the metal forehead.

"Hey, SWA–"

A cheeky voice never finished that phrase. The metal hand thrust forward, forcing a slender figure to gasp and topple. The unlucky attacker fell on his rear with an _U__mph!_, obviously not expecting such an abrupt reaction.

Next moment, the SWATbot was pointing a laser weapon built into its forearm at the spot where the fallen enemy had been– only he wasn't there anymore. The blue anthropomorphic hedgehog wearing a cocky smile stood behind it now, leaning against a tree lazily.

"Gotten faster since we last played, huh?" He flashed a grin at the emotionless red visor turning to face him. "Let me show ya why they call me the fastest dude on Mobius!"

A laser pulse got lost in the forest mass, missing the elusive target. Fierce gusts of wind made the tree branches creak as Sonic the Hedgehog – the hero of Mobius and the most known of Knothole Freedom Fighters – started running in a tight circle around his enemy. Within a blink of an eye, a thick wall of swirling air surrounded the SWATbot, promising it a humiliating flight into the thorny bushes.

The metal frame shifted, desperate to find a stable position, causing a grin to appear on Sonic's muzzle. Piece of chili-dog, as always.

Next moment the hedgehog's eyes went wide as he felt the SWATbot trying to stop his attack. That useless piece of junk was actually fighting him, trying to push itself through the tornado and knock the attacker off balance! He bit his lip, adding to his speed. Had the bot succeeded in forcing whatever part of its ugly body into Sonic's way, that would hurt more than a head-on collision with a high-speed Hover Unit… and that was way past uncool.

The robot lost it first. Slowly, as if reluctantly, its feet parted from the ground, and the wind raised by the hedgehog threw it head-first into a tree trunk. The wood cracked, accepting a metal head in its embrace, and Sonic dealt one final blow to make sure it stayed there for a long while.

After it was done, the spiky ball uncurled and the hedgehog himself landed on his two feet. He was panting slightly while wiping a drop of sweat off his forehead automatically. Meanwhile, his sensitive ears have already picked up distant noise approaching him, and from experience he knew it was time for him to get a move on.

He darted off into the forest, knowing precisely that the SWATbots would obediently follow him to exactly where he wanted them. Sonic was enjoying himself so much at this moment. Adrenaline pumping in his veins; wind blowing in his ears; for him, those were the symbols of the freedom he had made his trademark, and he would take on as many SWATbots as necessary to maintain it.

A tiny wearable transceiver on his triangular ear vibrated, indicating there was an incoming message for him. The hedgehog swung his hand swiftly, pressing a button on the device and thus accepting the transmission.

"Faker!" growled a familiar voice. "Please tell me this commotion has nothing to do with you."

That stripy creep only called him faker when greatly annoyed. Sonic grinned; his day was now officially made. "Chill, Shadow. Can't a hedgehog say his fellow SWATbots a hi?"

"Don't forget what our mission is! You promised Sally to–"

Sonic pressed the button again, and the line went silent. He rolled his eyes, never stopping his run through the forest. "Blah, blah, blah… Can't he just come and have some fun, too?"

His companion mentioning Sally did bring a frown onto his features, though. There was a plan, and they were expected to follow it. In fact, personally Sonic was strictly advised to follow it. Having fought by the hero's side for years, the Princess knew very well how easily he often gave in to his urges.

But…

But he was running again. After a torturously long wait, Sonic the Hedgehog was running! Helping it was just beyond his possibilities.

Whoops!

The hero skidded to a stop as he realized he had already approached the familiar place he was heading to. At this point, the forest was becoming thinner, soon revealing a path running along the downside of a rocky slope– a high and steep one, in fact. Being the dumb robots they were, SWATbots were bound to decide that the hedgehog had taken the path, and then follow him. Meanwhile, said hedgehog just had to hide somewhere on the upper side of the slope and then push a mass of rocks onto the approaching machines to make sure they never returned to Robotropolis with good news.

He took a spot behind a lovely big stone that was obliged to cause a major landslide on its way down. A hovercraft full to the brim with SWATbots heading his way would be pretty hard to miss, but he peered into the woodland as intensively as he could. Now, his only worry was picking the right time to make his move.

Sally could be a skilled strategist, but when it came to field action, it too often depended on the hero's reaction and on-the-go decisions whether the mission would be a success. Real life always changed their plans however it wished.

His com had been vibrating annoyingly all this time. Sonic covered it with his palm, huffing in disapproval as Tails had never made disabling the buzz possible.

"C'mon, slow-butts…" He tapped his wrist watch impatiently, peeking around the rock and frowning at how his pursuers still didn't hurry to show up. "What's taking ya so long?"

The answer came in a form of a blow to the back of his head.

Sonic only had time to a make a tiny sound of surprise before falling to all fours… and feeling a mass of pebble shift under his grip. He thrashed about, trying to slow down his movement, which resulted in him only gaining more speed. He rolled down in a growing cloud of dust and stone splinters, as if being a weirdly shaped rock himself.

Sonic forced himself to concentrate and curl into a ball to minimize the damage to his vulnerable belly and muzzle. He succeeded on the second try, after a collision with a particularly big rock threw him into the air. Tricking him this time, SWATbots possibly possessed just enough brains to bring a stone shower onto his own head as well, so it would be best if he just rolled straight into the safety of the forest as fast as possible.

Apparently, the enemy could see through his plan as he spotted something fly past him from above. The hero huffed under his nose. What were they thinking? No projectile could stop this hedgehog from spinning into freedom!

Unless it was made of–

_Splat_.

–_Mega Muck_.

The blue ball finally landed onto the path at the feet of the slope and immediately had trouble uncurling fully. Those SWATbots above him had time to fire a load of Mega Muck – a super sticky substance invented by that _Robotnik_ to counteract Sonic's incredible speed – in his way, and now the hero of Mobius lay crouched in a puddle of dirt with his elbows and knees safely glued to it.

Fantastic.

He squinted above his shoulder to estimate the distance between him and his enemies. At first, he didn't see anything; perhaps it had to do with the painful throbbing at the back of his head? Only after a moment of intense peering, he did notice several vague transparent silhouettes moving on top of the slope.

Sonic's eyes went wide. The SWATbots he knew couldn't become transparent! And the SWATbots he knew had just enough brains to run and shout at him at the same time; scheming against him was something they were not supposed to do! Something was terribly wrong with them, and it took the notion all this time to sink in.

_It is something Shadow's warned you about_, he heard someone say at the back of his head; the voice unnervingly resembled that of Sally. Of course, he had let the warning fly past his ears. And now he couldn't even reach out to accept Shadow's call and say how sorry he was.

His head whipped forward as his whole body tensed, resisting the glue. The hedgehog knew he could do it; he had already done it times before. Mustering all his power at once was the trick… as well as going that quick enough to outstrip the robots sent after him.

Careful footsteps were approaching him from above. The bots didn't try to bury him while they could… Felt like taking him to Robotropolis alive, huh? Not a chance here.

He squeezed his eyes shut from exertion. After yet another powerful push his left leg broke free. It brought a wild grin onto his face; the rest was just too easy.

The free leg started spinning and soon turned into a blur, adding to the force he was pushing himself free with. Before he could blink, his another leg was pulled out. With one last jerk, his hands were released from the trap as well. The fur he had lost today would probably take eternity to grow back, but in the end he was free as the wind again.

"_Yes_! Eat that, SWAT-butts!"

Euphoria went to his head, but not enough to make him forget about immediate threats. He couldn't see SWATbots while moving at such speed, but his hearing gave him a hint on their position. Too bad for them they had already descended almost all the way down the slope… Sonic rushed up in a wide arc, setting his initial plan in motion: namely, pushing all of the massive rocks on his way to produce a spacious landslide.

When he finally stopped on the path a good deal away from the Mega Muck blob, it all seemed to be over already. The landfall had died down, save for occasional streams of pebble. Sonic smirked and gave himself an inward thumbs-up.

Since he and Shadow still had signed up for a recon side-mission, it might be a good idea to approach now and take a closer look at those strange new SWATbots… maybe even take some parts with him for Tails to study. By the smell of it, some 'bots were already burning, but he still had a chance to find something valuable.

Funny thing, he thought while making a step forward. There's no smoke in sight. Plus, he didn't remember SWATbots stinking like this before…

Then there was a surge of pain in his left foot, and he yelped.

One look down was enough to recognize where the smell was coming from – the soles of his sneakers. Both of them were literally melting before his very eyes, promising his feet at least second-degree burns within seconds unless he took action.

Sonic fell on his tail without caring about comfort and tore the left sneaker off; the left foot was the one that hurt the most right now. The sock joined it in the dust as it was completely ruined as well. The hedgehog stomped his aching feet several times, trying to rid it of remaining bits of grey-ish substance that made his skin hurt.

He was in the process of getting off the second sock when a lazy _click_ made him freeze. Trying not to make any sharp moves, he raised his gaze as his stomach already contracted, preparing for the most horrible sight.

Before his eyes was… _something_, shapeless, colorless, quavering like heated air above a hot water supply line on a sunny day. As Sonic kept staring at it, it slowly took form of a khaki-colored SWATbot with its laser weapon pointing straight into the hedgehog's peach muzzle. For once, the metal puppet spared him the usual comments about _Priority One_, but the gesture alone was self-explanatory.

Sonic's gaze jolted towards the remnants of his footwear fizzling quietly in the dust. Realization made his fingers sink into his sore limb he was still holding. For him, losing those sneakers meant losing his speed as well.

His ability to fight. His only chance to escape.

The hero looked back up at the SWATbot, and gulped. It all looked like a nightmare coming true.


	2. 1-2 Where Were You

**2. Where Were You...**

.w.

_M7, control center_

_September 8th, 3236_

_About an hour later_

"..._will never happen again_!"

Sonic took it as a signal to emerge from the faraway world his mind had been in during the rant. He looked up, trying to muster an apologetic look. "I've already told ya I got the point, Sal. No need to stress it so much."

The chipmunk across the table from him, wearing a blue vest and having her auburn hair combed carefully in a usual manner despite a sleepless night she had to have, crossed her arms in front of her chest. The narrow-eyed look she was giving him told everyone in the room how she was neither convinced nor amused. "You weren't even listening, were you?"

She sighed and put her palms onto small round metal table, lowering her head tiredly. "I thought it was so obvious that we are not allowed to make any mistakes now. Even despite that, I personally asked you to be careful for a change. And you responded with breaking my order and nearly getting yourself captured! What on Mobius were you thinking..?"

Feeling just slightly guilty to fit the situation, the hero tried to shrug it off. "Look, I'm here now and I'm fine, right?"

"Only because Shadow made it there in time and could save you!" The Princess' blue eyes were glaring a hole in Sonic's fur again. "What are you trying to tell me? That you feel fine about being the one in distress?"

"Pff, please." Sorrow was gone in a blink, now replaced with a look of annoyance as Sonic copied their leader's former stance by crossing his arms stubbornly. "That was just one sleazy SWATbot. I could get away from it in no time all by myself, even without my sneakers. Shadow just overreacted as always."

Said black and red colored hedgehog, who had been wordlessly leaning against a metal contraption on Sonic's right all the time, shot him a furious glare. Needless to say, he was far from happy about both his lookalike's actions and attitude, yet he had just enough dignity to keep all possible comebacks to himself at the moment.

The Princess, being the one the most responsible, couldn't afford that. "Would you please remind me how fast you can run _all by yourself_, without sneakers saving your feet from the friction?"

Sonic was the first one to avert his gaze.

He spent the awkward pause looking over the room they occupied. The systems were running in the energy-saving mode, so the HEP lamps tucked in the ceiling were barely enough for them to make out their surroundings. Not that the control center had much to look at for him: Tails and Sally were the only ones who could put the machinery to use, and Sonic's only source of amusement for the past two months displayed on the familiar monitor was currently asleep.

Across the round metal table from the hedgehog, Sally was rubbing her right temple tiredly. The place was getting on her enough as it was, and Sonic did everything he could to make matters worse... On his left, Tails' head was barely visible above the metal surface. Quarrels like this one was something he couldn't stand, but what could a kid do to stop aunt Sally from yelling at his idol? The blue hedgehog tried to smile at him, which made made the fox sink deeper under the table.

Finally, Sonic didn't even need to look at Shadow to know that the other hedgehog was again indifferent on the outside, staring motionlessly at the floor.

The four of them. All remaining members of Knothole Freedom Fighters. All inhabitants of this cursed station.

Actually... okay, almost all.

"Well, at least now we know what SWATbots are looking for up there," Sonic said in a calming manner. "Us. Bi-ig surprise."

Sally glanced at him, unsure whether she should feel relieved at the change of the topic. "Only us? Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"Like what?" Sonic shrugged, seeing how Sally referred to their old argument. "They know we're in one of those Robotnik's secret bases, now they only have to find it. They know we're underground, so they brought that digging machine to get to the base, and sent several groups of to search for the entrance. Simple."

The chipmunk cast a questioning look at Shadow, and he nodded. "We saw a machine guarded by many SWATbots that seemed to be drilling through the ground," he said. "And there were more SWATbots in the forest around it. Sonic ran into a group of them."

Blue eyelids narrowed dangerously. What was that? Sally didn't believe his words now, needing that freak to prove him right? The implication stung more than all of her loud reproaches altogether.

The Princess didn't seem immediately satisfied, though. "That would only make sense if they didn't know where _exactly_ the entrance was," she said, looking at Sonic again. "Which as well means they don't know everything Robotnik knew."

"Look, I just _know _it's a trap. SWATbots digging randomly so far away from us must be a part of some bigger plan. Come on, don't you know the way Ro-butt-nik thinks, Sal?"

Tails' gaze danced from Sonic to Sally and back while its owner trembled helplessly. It had to stop... he had to make it stop! All he had to do was jump up and say that arguing like this was horribly wrong. That wise aunt Sally could eventually figure the whole picture out if she just stopped trying to play as stubborn as Sonic. That Robotnik was very evil and, sadly, very smart, and Tails, just like Sonic, wasn't going to believe his single word or action...

"There _was _something else," Shadow suddenly said, in a voice coarse from the lack of exercise.

Everyone in the room stared at him as he continued. "Apparently, SWATbots were using the machine to search for something underground, but they never touched the forest surrounding it. Sally, remember how you told me Robotnik used to burn parts of the Great Forest down in attempts to find Knothole? Now SWATbots could do it with nobody being there to stop them, but they didn't."

Sonic knit his brow, bringing the memories back. Now that Shadow mentioned it... save for a weird five-meter-tall metal contraption installed on a meadow and a battalion of robots around it, that particular section of the Great Forest looked exactly like any other one. That was so unlike the old times, when SWATbots marked the areas they visited with ashes and empty ground that would take ages to heal. Back then, Sonic had to show up quickly every time to save the forest from being destroyed and their hidden village from being uncovered.

Too bad that today he was too busy sneaking away from Shadow and then playing tag with the robots to pay much attention to such details.

"Well, it's not like they have to look for Knothole anymore," he said darkly.

"But they have to look for the entrance leading to this base," Shadow continued the thought. "I find it strange that they refuse to use their old techniques."

"Yeah, that's strange-" Sonic's eyes went wide. "Unless they already know how to get here, and sent that machine to distract us!"

The idea was so brilliant he didn't even mind suddenly finding Shadow on his side. He looked at Sally triumphantly and was pleased to notice how she for once appeared deep in thought instead of annoyed.

"In fact," the chipmunk said slowly, staring at a dark corner absently, "This theory makes sense... somewhat. If only I could do a bit of research..."

Her hand slid down to the pocket of her blue vest, reaching for her most reliable advisor and her best friend, supercomputer Nicole... and stopped.

"Um, Sally?" The hero asked, worried about the look on her face.

"...I'm fine." She snapped back to reality, arms crossed against her chest again. "You and Shadow go have some rest. Me and Tails will be on duty tonight."

"I'm not tired!" Sonic was so excited he jumped off his chair.

"Same here," Shadow straightened up. "Plus, it's the two of you who need a rest now. You didn't sleep at all last night."

Both hedgehog eyed each other cautiously, weighting the perspective of spending the night in each other's company. Sonic didn't know about his dark lookalike, but he knew very well that he personally was going to have trouble bearing the uneasy silence. Jeez, just who on Mobius asked that stripy idiot to rush and warp Sonic away from the SWATbot he was about to beat...

The Princess wasn't about to back down, though. "Go, both of you. I need to do some calculations with the computers here, and Tails wanted to inspect what remained of Sonic's sneakers."

The remark about sneakers made the hero's cheeks burn a little, and he turned away sharply. "Fine, fine. Have fun here, and wake me up when it's my turn."

Sonic was the first to leave the control center, but his previous words weren't entirely dishonest: he was way too excited to just lay down and fall asleep. He pretended to examine his wounded feet while waiting for Shadow to walk past him and enter the living quarters on his right. Knowing very well that the other hedgehog wouldn't be missing him, he crossed the dark passage and grabbed the rungs of the ladder. The elevator would create too much noise and most certainly attract Sally's attention, so the ladder was exactly what he needed.

Within seconds, he made it to the higher level of the base. The energy saving could be aborted from the control center only, so the hedgehog ended up being alone in almost complete darkness of the main loading dock. Sonic stared at the blackness around him, frowning. The grey-ish glow emitted by the floor lights was enough to tell where approximately the floor itself was, but not enough to effectively avoid all the boxes taking the place. He couldn't run here without fears of hurting a toe or snapping his nose.

As if he could run at all...

He made it further away from the ladder and sat onto a metal box, swinging his legs a little. Metal floor felt cold against his bare feet, but he'd gotten pretty used to it over the weeks. His flesh didn't hurt much by now and promised to heal within several days... unlike his ego. Sonic was surprised to discover that he was capable of despising his state even more than before his last mission. But having Shadow save him from Robotnik's pathetic minions, and then seeing disappointment written across Sally's face... that was almost too much to bear.

_'Where were you when the brains were handed out?'_

Those words now echoing in his head had never been uttered by Sally in reality, but it didn't stop them from returning to him again and again in his old nightmare. The vision of the Princess, caught and already roboticized, all because of him being too weak to prevent the disaster. Too stupid to obey a simple order.

Sonic sighed and shook his head. In any case, he knew it wasn't Sally's fault he had failed so hard earlier that day. All of them were still doing what they had to do mostly thanks to her efforts, not despite them. He would have to apologize for his tone later...

But Sally was not the first one he got a chance to talk to in private.

"Here you are, Sonic!"

The hero looked back and saw Tails emerge from the hatch in the floor. He smiled, sincerely this time. "Yo, Big Guy. What's up?"

"I-" The fox stopped several feet away from him, suddenly starting to shift uncomfortably and eyeing the floor in embarrassment. He had never spoken up himself during Sally's speech, and it was clear now exactly how guilty he felt all the time. With the darkness still engulfing them, Sonic could barely see the kid's cheeks burn. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. This is all my fault that your sneakers failed you. Had I made them more stable, you-"

Sonic stood up and covered the distance between them quickly. He lowered himself to one knee and put his palms onto his younger brother's shoulders, looking firmly into the blue eyes full of sorrow. "Listen, Tails. I hate to admit it, but Sal was kinda right. This was all my fault, not yours. Had I been more cool about our mission, nothing bad would have happened at all."

"That's not right." The tiny fox's frown looked more cute than accusing. "The sneakers would still be flawed. They would have just malfunctioned sometime else."

"Well, think that I tested them, and found the bug as soon as I could," Sonic chuckled a bit. "My bad making the whole testing thing so big and loud, but you see that all's well in the end."

He couldn't tell whether his comforting worked as Tails hugged him abruptly. "I promise I will build you better ones, Sonic," he mumbled into the blue fur and quills.

"I know." The kid's hero hugged him back, moved by this show of emotions. "I know you're doing your best, Tails. You always do."

The hug broke as Tails stepped back, rubbing his eyes slightly. Now that the most important promise was made, he clearly felt uncomfortable staying around Sonic who wanted to be alone. "Um, thanks. Sally was right: I will look at the previous model to see what went wrong, and start making a new pair as soon as I can."

"Right now? Look, I really can be on duty with Sally today, no problem. If you're tired, just tell me."

"N-no way!" The fox nearly jumped and stepped back towards the hatch quickly. "I mean, it's fine, I can make it. You should rest, really. Oh, and maybe you want me to turn the lights on properly?" he gestured at the dark hall around them.

"Nah, it's fine. I was gonna go back down in a few minutes anyway."

Tails wished him good night and disappeared in the hatch, returning to the first level of the base. The hedgehog watched the lighter oval on the floor, feeling the smile disappear from his face slowly.

His brother seemed to have taken some of Sonic's inner warmth with him.

Sonic sat there motionlessly for many minutes, resembling Shadow so much in the dim light. His gaze eventually traveled up and to his right where stood the huge gate leading to the underground tunnel, sealed shut at the moment. Two meters of metal and kilometers of a dark and moist passage separating them from the forest. Above the gate, tilted red letters glowed brightly, so unlike the lights embedded in the floor.

_Magnacore Complex. Station M7._

The hedgehog stared at those familiar letters for a while. In the end he got down to his knees and hit the metal floor with both fists, unable to fight the despair eating him up inside.

This morning...

For seconds... for mere several seconds... he believed everything was back to normal again...


	3. 1-3 Night Terror

**3. Night Terror.**

.w.

_The Great Forest_

_June 30th, 3236_

_Night time_

"Whoa!"

Sonic swayed and waved his hands wildly, but managed to keep his balance. Navigating in the night forest was a hard task as it was, and this fallen tree trunk wasn't making it any easier for him. The hero knelt to give the wood a closer look. This tree must have been dead for less than a day; apparently, the result of Robotnik and his troops flying by.

He cringed sympathetically, but stood up swiftly in an instant. The tree was also a good sign in some way: it indicated that the hedgehog was going the right way. All he had to do so far was find out where the villain had gone, and his speed could do the chasing part for him.

The Freedom Fighters had found out that Robotnik would be out of Robotropolis that night. Their visit to the city several hours earlier brought them literally nothing, so now the hero was dead set on at least finding out what drove the tyrant out of his lair. If it was another deadly device of his, and these tended to spawn far too often for Sonic's liking lately, then he had to stop the project as soon as possible.

Sonic's little break was nearing its end, and he was about to dash off, but he had to linger just for a few moments. At this point he suddenly got a faint feeling that something was up. The feeling grew until the hero found its source, a distant sound that was getting closer to him. Blue ears flickered, trying to identify the noise. Some sort of a flying machine, maybe a small chopper, or...

Spinning tails?

He tensed and hopped onto a think tree branch in one powerful movement. One jump after another, he made it to the top of the tree and then into the night sky above the Great Forest... earning a yelp of surprise from a small Mobian flying by. The hedgehog waved him cheerfully.

"Hey, Tails! What's up?" he asked before landing onto another branch.

"Sonic! Thank goodness I caught up with you!" A young brown fox with two tails was panting heavily from both exhaustion and excitement, approaching his hero. "We got a message from Uncle Chuck saying that a big group of SWATbots had just left Robotropolis. He couldn't find out where they were going, but Sally is worried about it. She wants you to return to Knothole."

Sir Charles Hedgehog, Sonic's uncle, had been roboticized during Robotnik's coup d'état more than ten years ago. Despite him still being stuck in a body made of metal, Sonic had managed to restore his original mind and free will. Now Uncle Chuck was an important part of the resistance, an undercover spy and a source of invaluable information for their group.

Uncle Chuck was the one who had warned them about Robotnik's absence in Robotropolis in the first place. If he risked sending them two messages one by one, then something really important must have been going on, and Sonic just had to check it out. He gritted his teeth; the temptation was way too strong.

But the Princess's order was to come back...

"Sonic?" Tails landed on the branch beside him, and it creaked dangerously. The fox kit knew what he was thinking: it was the perfect time for a recon mission, and Sonic was the last Freedom Fighter to be afraid of Robotnik and his SWATbots. Probably it was why Sally chose to send Tails instead of Dulcy or someone else: the kid was too young to either take to the mission or leave alone. The hedgehog's duty was now to escort him home safely.

"Comin'." He gave his younger brother a thumbs-up and jumped onto the ground with a small _thump_. "Doesn't look like I could find anything useful anyway. Let's head back to Knothole, but make sure to stay below the trees this time. If SWATbots are lurking around in the sky, they could detect you in no time."

"Got it!" Tails cried, and covered his mouth immediately as Sonic gave him a disapproving look. It wasn't a smart idea to make unwanted noise right now.

"Cool. Now, let's get movin'."

The hedgehog headed back, making sure to go slowly enough for Tails to keep up. The kid was a good flier- not to mention he was a _fox_ flying thanks to his twin tails- but even he was unable to catch up with the fastest thing alive moving at the speed of sound. And the last thing Sonic wanted now was losing his younger brother in a night forest swarming with SWATbots.

"Any other news 'cept the SWAT-butts?" he asked casually, leaping from one tree brunch to another in order to cross a gully.

"Nuh-huh. All's as usual. But Sally is worried about Nicole. She says maybe she'll have to go to Robotropolis again to get some of her components replaced like the last time."

Sonic nodded. Nicole, Sally's supercomputer and best friend, was of great help for their group, but, being a fragile machine in essence and having to operate in a not-so-friendly environment of the Great Forest, she inevitably malfunctioned from time to time. They used to steal chips from Robotnik's factories to fix her... Of course, getting computer components and other stuff from Robotropolis became much easier with Sir Charles being on their side.

"We can ask Uncle Chuck to get whatever she needs. No problem." At this point, he noticed Tails rising dangerously above the trees again. "Hey, Big Guy, watch where you go. Come down, will ya?"

However, Tails was too interested in something only he could see to comply. "Sonic, come here and have a look at this."

The hero frowned. They were minutes away from their home now, what could possibly postpone their return? Had Tails noticed Antoine sleeping on duty or something? Nevertheless, he hurried to the top of the tree Tails was hovering over, and looked where the fox was pointing. Within less than a second, he felt his heart skip a beat.

Night sky was tinted red above Knothole.

"Sonic, what-" Tails began, but the hedgehog already wasn't there. He was rushing towards the village at maximum speed, now feeling his heart beat like crazy in his chest.

_Impossible._

Robotnik couldn't have found them overnight like this. Not after all those years when they struggled to make their home undetectable.

This was too insane to even think about. Something else must have caused the red tint, not the fire consuming the village.

His mind was still in a haze when he hopped onto a clearing. Before him was a small river, with first rows of wooden huts visible on the other side. Gusts of hot air exploded into his face, filling his lungs with smoke. Wide eyes stared at the shadows dancing on the other side... tall, angular shadows.

SWATbots...

In burning Knothole.

There was a fraction of a second when he felt his knees becoming weak and his head turning extremely light. The vision seemed so wrong there was no way it could be real. Everything was fine when he was leaving, and he had been away for less than an hour- and what could have happened in less than an hour? Robotnik couldn't have detected them before that- their team was in Robotropolis just tonight! If something was up, they would have learned about it!

But there they were, in a village attacked by the enemy.

Then the shadows seemed to move closer to him, and his reflexes threw him under a thick bush above the river. His momentary weakness was gone, replaced with just a fading din in his ears and a clearer mind. He had to accept that this was not someone's sick joke; years of hardship taught him to expect life to land another lash onto his bare back at any moment. Right now, he had to find out what he could do to make the disaster stop, and then just do it.

His eyes darted left and right. One of the bridges crossing the rivers was now gone; the other one was guarded by at least five SWATbots. Sneaking past all of them would be a stretch, plus he would have to forget about keeping his presence secret. Meanwhile, he would really love to stay unnoticed until he knew for sure where to deal his first blow.

Sonic darted back to the forest edge, vertically onto the nearest tall tree he could see, and then along the branch to gain enough velocity to fly into the air. He was fast as the wind itself, but, apparently, this wasn't enough: he noticed the movement next to the bridge in the corner of his eye. The SWATbots couldn't see him, but they could see that something was off.

During his flight over the river the hedgehog could take a quick look of the whole village, and that one look was enough to tell that thing couldn't have possibly been any worse. Most of the huts were on fire already, some were surrounded by armed robots. He saw several bodies lying on the ground, motionless, and swore he would return to get every one of them.

He landed safely right behind Rotor's workshop, hopefully unnoticed by the invaders. A peek inside through the window told him that nobody was indoors, save for a small fire in a corner. Thin smoke was coming from there, but that was the least of Sonic's worries at the moment.

The hedgehog got inside through the same window. Neither Rotor nor other villagers found cover in there, so he had to move on. He darted through the mess of robot details and implements to the opposite window only to see more burning huts. One of them collapsed, creating a column of black smoke and sparkles, and his heart sank: that one was Sally's...

Another hut came in his view. It wasn't ablaze yet, but he could see several SWATbot silhouettes inside. One of them raised a hand to point his weapon at something or someone outside his view, and an agonizing scream reached Sonic's ears.

Then, there was a flash of light.

Sonic's heart was pumping wildly in his chest as he gripped the window sill, ready to throw his body into the battle. That fire, that light, that desperate voice which Sonic knew belonged to Rosie, their poor old nanny- all of it was too much for him to bear. Remaining in a hidden place was no longer an option; he had to do something, anything to save the remaining Freedom Fighters!

He wasn't alone in his urge.

"Rosie..!"

Heck, _no_.

_Not Tails._

But Sonic froze and looked up anyway- and, of course, saw his younger brother diving down from above to save his dear nanny from grave danger. His scream alerted the SWATbot, and the monster robot immediately turned to face him, its weapon reloaded and ready to fire again. So lonely and evident against the dark sky, Tails had nowhere to hide other than behind his own courage.

What could a tiny fox do against a killer machine? Be lucky and die quickly and painlessly. Sonic wouldn't allow that.

"Tails, no!"

His legs nearly detached from his body from the thrust as he launched himself into the sky. The hero grabbed Tails' waist and broke the spinning motion of the twin tails, sending them both down and to the right. An overwhelming wave of heat washed past Sonic's feet. A shot from the SWATbot's laser rifle missed them, but it did not guarantee them safety for long; on the contrary, the whole battalion of them was maybe now on their way to get the Priority One.

The duo crashed into a tree trunk and rolled downhill. Sonic knocked a couple of SWATbots off balance on the way down, but he knew he couldn't fight effectively while having to protect Tails at the same time. He caught the fox's hand and took off, feeling the ground burn and boil behind them from more laser shots missing their target. He didn't feel safe in the slightest until they found cover behind a semi-collapsed wall close to the river.

"Tails." Sonic grabbed his brother's shoulders, paying no attention to how much his own were shaking now. "Get out of here. Now. Hide in the forest until I get the others and find you."

"Sonic..."

He'd never seen Tails so scared. The fox was not exactly the bravest kind, but heck, he didn't have time to be stunned like this! "I said _now_! This is an order!" the hero hissed almost furiosly. They probably still had a couple of seconds left before SWATbots found them.

"Sonic, your feet..!"

The hedgehog looked down instinctively, and gasped. His blue fur above his ankles was scorched, as were his socks, and the sneakers... what remained of them looked more like two shapeless blobs of paint engulfing his feet. The pain hadn't yet reached his brain, but it was evident he wouldn't be able to move a toe after the adrenaline rush was over.

Apparently, the SWATbot decided to widen the laser beam and reduce the power output to fry the Mobians alive instead of piercing them with a concentrated narrow beam. _Well, it earned a thumbs-up for almost making it_, Sonic thought dully.

Even that wasn't the worst part. The sneakers had been designed by Uncle Chuck to reduce the natural friction between Sonic's feet and the earth below them; thanks to this invention, Sonic could reach his trademark speed without damaging his flesh. Now, without them and with his feet already burnt... he was useless.

He couldn't run.

He could do _nothing_.

The thought was too big to fit into his head.

In any case, it didn't have to as someone's hand gripped his shoulder from behind. Sonic jerked instinctively, struggling to break free; it was no use.

"Let go of m-hhmmm!" He tried to bite the hand covering his mouth before he finally noticed that it was _gloved_.

"Quiet," a familiar voice hissed into his ear. Sonic squinted to the side to see black quills with red tips next to his muzzle.

"Mhhmm?"

Shadow didn't bother answering. He dragged his counterpart away, ignoring Sonic's useless attempts to support himself with wounded feet. Tails needed no orders to follow them; the trance he was in seemed to slow all of his reactions down.

The hero was far from that. As soon as he learned that he wasn't in danger of being choked, he shook Shadow's hand off. "Why are you here!?" he snapped. "There are people who need help!"

His dark twin stepped back to have a better look at him, and Sonic immediately realized the answer to his question. Shadow brought him behind a massive pile of wooden boxes, apparently not important enough to be burnt straight away. Sitting on the ground with her back against a box, with her eyes closed and chest rising rapidly, was Princess Sally.

Black eyes darted down and took in several dark marks on her fur. Those didn't look lethal, but the chipmunk obviously was in pain thanks to them. "Sally!" he called, kneeling beside her. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes opened and focused on him. Sonic had to hand it to her: right now, Sally looked least lost of all four of them. "I'm fine," she said quickly and quietly. She coughed a little as her gaze darted from him to Shadow and Tails. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"I saw several bodies," said Sonic. The din in his ears was back; smoke was filling his lungs, and this night seemed so unreal, like a nightmare about to end. "And I heard SWATbots fire at Rosie. I don't know what happened to them."

He wanted to ask what had gone so horribly wrong that SWATbots appeared in the village while he was gone, but he knew they didn't have time for that. Sally was ready to take action; she nodded and reached for her pocket to take out Nicole and calculate an immediate plan.

It never happened as her hand stopped mid-way, and fell helplessly. "I left Nicole back at my hut!"

Sonic bit his lip at the realization. "It collapsed just minutes ago. Sorry," he added awkwardly.

Her face became determined again. Time for crying would come later. "We'll make it," she said firmly, using a box for support as she stood up. "Sonic, Shadow, you'll have to distract the SWATbots. Me and Tails will- oh my gosh. Sonic, what happened to your feet?"

No answer followed. By this time, Sonic had already tried to stand up from his kneeling position, and found out he couldn't. The pain still wasn't there, but his feet refused to respond to his inner orders. In fact, by this point he didn't feel his own legs down his knees. The hedgehog suddenly felt light-headed, even though he was still half-sitting on the ground.

Sally wanted him to get rid of the SWATbots. His people needed him like never before.

All he had to do was stand up. It wasn't all that hard... right?

"A SWATbot got him," Tails said in a dreamy voice. Sonic looked up to see his brother several steps away from them, peeking over a wooden box that was nearly as tall as the fox himself. "And now they are coming for us."

His words didn't take long to be proved true. Light exploded in their eyes; the box pile shook, and its part on their right had partially dissipated after the very first shot from something that could have been a flamethrower. The heat increased drastically, and Sonic felt as if he had to swim through thickening air just to stay on his spot. He coughed; he needed fresh air, or he was going to swoon soon.

The following thought was even more terrible than his state. SWATbots must have been aiming at Tails! The hero cracked an eye to open and found out that his brother was still alive, pressed into the ground by Shadow. The dark hedgehog had yanked the fox back by his namesakes, saving him from being fried.

Sonic should have done that...

The thought faded away as he heard heavy footsteps approaching their hide. If he had a wish to be a hero at last, the time was just right.

But Sally had other plans. "Shadow," she called quietly. "Get Sonic and Tails out of here, then come back and find me. I'll stay here and try to find Bunnie and Dulcy. Come on!"

_No!_ Sonic was about to cry out, but the words came out as miserable coughing. And, in fact, what would it change? He still was unable to put up with being of no help to the team. The instincts he had been fostering for years were now screaming, telling him to roll back, zip around that pile and a nearby hut, attacking the SWATbots from behind and drawing their attention away from Sally and others-

And his feet refused to move. And he knew life couldn't have been less unfair to him.

Shadow was hesitant as well, but due to a different reason. Sally gave him an order, thus relieving him of making vital decisions, and all he had to do was follow her words. Leave, then come back, find her, help her fight the SWATbots. Or find her body among those already lying among burning huts. Luck of the dice. Though the latter seemed more probable and dreadful as the vision stood vibrant before his eyes.

Thirty seconds. Come back in thirty seconds to find out he could do even less than he could now. The thought was unbearable.

"_Go_!" she yelled.

He gnashed his teeth, feeling precious seconds slip away. The hedgehog had already learned Sally was not the timid kind, and maybe she even was ready to die fighting for her people, but... it just wasn't fair of her to make this choice alone like this.

No matter what she was saying, he had to make a decision of his own, and he did.

"Chaos Control!"


	4. 1-4 Neighborhood

**4. Neighborhood.**

.w.

_Robotropolis_

_June 29th, 3236_

_Around 10PM_

The sound of marching feet made Shadow's heart beat faster. Over Sally's head he could see them: rows and rows and rows of SWATbots striding past them purposefully, making the metal walls and floor shudder. The hedgehog tried to merge with the shadows even more; it seemed so easy for the robots to look back briefly and notice the four of them, clinging to the wall of a factory. Unless they weren't already observed by a dozen cameras tucked in most tricky places. This city was bound to have cameras.

Sally didn't seem too worried, though. Shadow could tell the Princess, like everyone else in their team, was pretty used to being on the enemy's territory. "It's clear," she whispered, peeking around the corner. "Let's go."

They ran. The hedgehog couldn't tell where; the roads and tunnels and facilities on their left and on their right seemed like a maze to him. He completely relied on Sally and her sense of direction now, believing that she knew where they were going. The hedgehog looked back at his other companions, Bunnie and Sonic- and it was when he noticed the latter's absence.

"Sally," he whispered, reaching out to touch her elbow. "Sonic isn't here."

"I know." She took cover inside a moderate-sized transport tunnel, waving to the others to do the same. "He has a business to take care of while we search the network. He will catch up."

The chipmunk kept her eyes on a Hover Unit stationed in front of a low and bulky building. The gates were wide open while worker robots moved in and out, loading metal boxes into their transport. From Sally's briefing earlier today the hedgehog remembered they were about to invade a computer chip factory and use one of the computers inside to hack into Robotropolis' network. Were there chips inside those boxes? Shadow was not an expert to tell for sure.

He rested his back against the metal wall of the tunnel and studied the rusty floor. He just noticed it was raining outside; raindrops knocked against the metal gently as a ghostly veil of water stood between them and the 'bots. A thin stream of it made its way through the ceiling to come in contact with Shadow's shoulder and run down his spine. The hedgehog didn't really care. That was only his second time experiencing rain on Mobius, but he could barely notice it this time. It was as if adrenaline made his blood boil and evaporated all the water long before it touched his fur.

A personal business. Right. Something so important the hero didn't want Shadow to watch him in the meantime. It was beginning to get on his nerves by now... this irrational distrust, sometimes even fear Sonic and many other villagers held against him. He felt being on unstable ground around them himself, even though the Freedom Fighters had officially accepted him as their guest and ally. Sally, their leader, remained neutral, but even she had left it to him to convince everyone else that he was not an enemy.

Save for the fact that they were in Robotropolis today solely because of him and the riddles making up his past, of course.

Finally, the heavy machine moved away and disappeared in a tunnel in front of the one they took cover in. Before all the workers disappeared inside the factory, Shadow noticed that all of them looked like Mobians rather than humans, and his heart sank. Roboticized people... Sally had told him about them before, but seeing them in reality was much worse than it sounded. They were a vivid demonstration of what doctor Robotnik truly was, and the understanding hurt almost physically.

The gate began to fall down, threatening to shut the entrance to the factory, and the three of them took off, following Sally's command. Bunnie was the first to make it to the gate; she used her metal arm to stop the movement of the plate of metal. She managed to lift it enough for him and Sally to slide underneath, but Shadow could guess how much effort it was taking; the rabbit's eyes were already shut tight from exertion as her arm shook slightly above her head. A number of unused metal boxes lay scattered around, and the hedgehog hurried to push them under the gate to block it up.

Meanwhile, Sally had already made it further into the loading hall where the control systems were. A single robot operator turned to face her, but was knocked onto the floor and decapitated with a quick chop before it could raise an alarm. The Princess took his place and plugged Nicole into a free port within seconds.

"Bunnie," she called while the supercomputer tried to connect to the factory's system and thus gain access to the city's global network. "Keep an eye on the gate. Shadow, come over there and watch the door leading to the assembly chamber. Just open it a bit and let me know if someone approaches it from the inside."

The rabbot girl nudged the hedgehog slightly, both thanking him for the help and suggesting to do what he was told. The loading section of the factory was basically a huge metal box itself, with a gate on one side and a slightly smaller metal door in the opposite wall. It was closed at the moment, and Shadow headed towards it as fast as he could. He stumbled a couple of times; at some point his skate poked the detached head of the computer's robot operator, and it clanked quietly. Shadow felt his hands tremble a little, and balled them into fists to stop it. He knew all of those robots were enemies, but the knowledge didn't make fighting them feel any less wrong.

"Connection established, Sally," came Nicole's deep voice from behind.

"Now, search the keywords: _the ARK_."

The door was an automatic one, and it took some effort to open it just a fraction. Shadow pushed his elbow into the crack he produced and took a peek inside. What he saw there made him gasp.

The chip factory looked pretty flat and not so big on the outside, but now he knew that size meant absolutely nothing. The assembly hall he observed had a huge oval hole in the floor, and through it Shadow could see floors and floors beneath his level. Three, five, six... he couldn't see more, but more could have remained out of sight. The sound of thousand machine parts connecting, clashing, adjusting, polishing and assembling washed over him like a downpour.

"No match found, Sally," Nicole's voice sounded as if it had to cover huge distances to reach his ears. One of them twitched slightly; the topic related to him.

"Interesting... Search new keywords: Gerald Robotnik."

"Warning: unacceptable keywords. Search aborted."

"What!? Nicole, try again."

Shadow watched and watched, taking in every detail of the factory lying before him. Each floor seemed to be a separate part of the chip production process, with different types of worker robots operating different kinds of machines, working with different materials. Lower levels worked with bulky blocks of silicon, while lines on the higher levels carried pieces so small Shadow could barely see them from his place. Some robot caught his gaze and didn't let go; it seemed to be a hedgehog like him...

As he watched, he saw a blindingly white orb explode deep inside the second level, producing a small avalanche of sparks and a high-pitched hissing sound. Several robots standing nearby stumbled back as glowing particles came in contact with their metal skin. The line stopped immediately. Dispassionate voice from somewhere under the ceiling uttered several words, and red-colored floating 'bots from the assembly hall hurried to put the small fire out. Seeing how workers on other levels didn't show signs of worry, Shadow could tell they were used to such things happening on their factory.

He was so lost in the sight he nearly missed some movement dangerously close to him. There was a curvy lane running from the assembly chamber towards the loading hall, and two SWATbots were already on it, approaching the door; Shadow noticed how both were empty-handed. Did they notice him? Were they concerned about one of the factory operators not responding for so long? Maybe his inactivity was what caused the explosion, and they naturally decided to check it out. He felt his heartbeat speed up as let go of the door, allowing it to shut again.

"Sally, SWATbots are coming this way!"

She groaned. "I need more time! How many are there?"

"Two."

"No problem. Just leave 'em to me," said Bunnie, leaving her post near the gate and heading towards Shadow. "But you better hurry, Sally-girl."

Shadow watched in awe as the rabbit moved away from the gate, with all seriousness ready to oppose two armed robots. From his only experience with them in the past, the hedgehog knew they all possessed laser weapons they wouldn't hesitate to use. Then again, unlike him, the Freedom Fighters had been in war with them for years... Maybe they simply had a reason to appear so confident on the enemy's ground he just didn't know about yet?

Bunnie patted him on the shoulder briefly when passing by. "Shadow, sugah, watch the gate for me, will ya?"

The hedgehog nodded and stepped back, still keeping his gaze on the brave lady. She took place next to the door, with her back pressed hard into the rough metal surface. Mere seconds later the door opened all the way, and the first SWATbot stepped inside. Its sensors perhaps had time to detect an occupied Princess and a wide-eyed hedgehog... before Bunnie stepped hard on its right foot, causing its next step to turn into a clumsy fall. The robot hit the floor and broke into pieces before it even managed to utter a single word.

Its companion joined it shortly as the rabbot girl used her metal arm to pull it inside by the ankle and throw on the floor. The door closed automatically, and Bunnie gripped the edge to prevent it from opening again; metal fingers dug deep into the door's surface. From the sound of distant sirens, Shadow could tell she was going to need all her strength to keep it in place.

"How's it going, Sally-girl?" Bunnie shouted from her position.

"Nothing yet!" came Sally's reply. "It's as if something keeps Nicole out. Oh, please don't tell me Robotnik has enhanced the security since the last time..."

"Internal error," Nicole announced in a warning voice. "The analysis module was shut down. Internal error-"

"What..?"

Sally's features stiffened, and she let out a groan. "Oh, no. Nicole, not _now_." She tried to wipe the supercomputer's screen dry with her vest, smearing the moisture that had been there since they emerged from the rain outdoors. It was only then that Shadow asked himself whether Nicole was water-proof. Apparently, she was not, and Sally remembered about it a little too late.

The door leading to the assembly chamber shook. Bunnie's toes dug into the floor, helping her resist the pressure. "Whoa, those creeps are impatient, aren't they?" she muttered. "Any ideas?"

Sally didn't respond.

Shadow stared at the wreckage on the floor with some dull interest. Two battle machines that looked so deadly turned into scrap after the first impact with the floor, without even making any attempts to save themselves, much less attack. It was as though Robotnik had just enough time and resources to give weapons to the scariest worker robots rather than build new ones, meant only for combat. Was it possible with someone like Sally and Bunnie and Sonic being around all the time?

Probably that was why the rabbot lady felt so confident about entering the fight.

Come to think of it... being dead, SWATbots didn't resemble humans so painfully. They seemed what they truly were: a set of robot parts attached to each other, not living beings with their own mind and free will. Attacking them would never be the same as attacking a human.

The sirens' urgent wailing drew closer, and the skin on his neck crawled when he realized that the sound was coming from behind him, not from inside the factory. He turned back just in time to see metal fingers grab the lower edge of the gate and pull it up swiftly, throwing the boxes away. There stood another SWATbot. A hover unit with more of them was there, too, but Shadow could barely make them out as the fierce light of several searchlights nearly forced his eyes shut.

His first thought was to run.

It was so easy. Grab the Chaos Stone out of his quills and warp himself far, far away from here. Knothole was probably not a good choice; some peaceful corner of the Great Forest should do fine. Nobody would get him there.

But Sally and Bunnie would have to stay behind.

He stared at the dark silhouette in front of him as he ears registered the robot's mechanical voice, but it sounded like a collection of syllables rather than intelligent speech to him. All he remembered at that time was Bunnie patting him slightly on the shoulder. '_No problem. Watch the gate for me, will ya?_'

"Intruders, come out with your hands above your heads and make no attempts to-"

A surge of energy hit it square in the torso and exploded in a shower of sparks. The robot fizzled out in mid-sentence and folded, sending itself to the ground. Before that happened, another surge darted out of the hall and collided with the hover craft, discharge embracing its windshield and belly like a thin net of white light. Deep inside of it, all control systems malfunctioned at once, startling the robot pilots. The craft careening dangerously was the last thing Shadow saw before the gate dropped down onto the fallen SWATbot, having lost its support, and cut off the thick steam of light. A loud crunching sound indicated that the robot was definitively done for.

"Whoa," Bunnie said. The hedgehog saw her green eyes glow a little in the semi-darkness of the loading hall as she stared at him. "Nice shot, sugah-hog. But now we are stuck in here."

"No problem," he said, surprised at how calm his voice sounded. His hands still shook a little, but his head was completely clear for once. "I can Chaos Control us all out of here when Sally is done."

Sally cast a glance at him, considering his words. Even if she was impressed by his sudden show of power, she didn't indicate that in any way. "Yes, but Sonic will think we're still inside. I can bet he's already on his way here, and we need to let him know he has to get out of the city as well."

The Princess unplugged Nicole and put her into her pocket; Shadow noticed that the supercomputer's screen was black.

"She turned off seconds ago," Sally muttered in response to his silent question. "I don't know whether it was the water or Robotnik tinkering with security measures, but our visit was a waste. I'm sorry, Shadow. Now-"

She was interrupted by a brief screeching sound. Before they could locate its source, a loud _clanng_ and a surprised yelp from Bunnie followed. The hedgehog noticed some tall and angular machine with a huge claw tear the whole door out of its place and pull it inside the assembly chamber along with the rabbot whose fingers were still stuck in the metal. The machine lifted the door to its cabin covered with reflective plastic to inspect it- Bunnie took the opportunity to kick the plastic hard enough to leave a dent in it- and then threw it away carelessly.

"No!"

Shadow couldn't hold the cry back as both he and Sally took off. He was inside the assembly hall before the Princess could make a single step towards it; his eyes were searching for traces of Bunnie hastily. Soon enough he spotted it - a trail of broken and fizzling machinery on the second level. The hedgehog dashed forward and leaped into the oval gap in the floor, landing hard on the level he needed.

"Bunnie?"

She was alive, sitting among the wreckage and shaking her head repeatedly. It took her eyes some time to focus on Shadow. "Oh my," she said. "Talk about robots who don't know how to treat a lady..."

He felt relieved beyond belief as he hurried to help her to her feet. The rabbot girl managed to stand up almost by herself, but didn't push Shadow's hand back. "Thanks, sugah. Now, let's find Sally and get out of here. Not that I expected a warm welcome, but-"

Bunnie trailed off, and Shadow learned why when he followed her gaze.

They surrounded them without making a single sound while the two Mobians exchanged niceties. All robots working on this floor, some still holding implements like pincers or cutters, all studying them in silence. Shadow shivered as he made eye contact with one, two, five, more of them... Impassionate oculars where eyes are supposed to be, all glowing red. Not a single spec of any other color.

"Shadow..." Bunnie gripped his arm tight.

"I know," he said quietly.

They had been living being long ago, betrayed by Robotnik and turned into his puppets, his slaves doing the dirty work in Robotropolis. Now their their true personalities were dormant so deep inside their metal bodies they might not even be there. It just dawned on Shadow that those Robians didn't take the implements because they had been using them in their work- they took the tools to attack the two breathing Mobians among them.

A shriek came from above, and a chill ran down Shadow's spine. Now Sally was in danger as well.

Bunnie shook off her shock first. "The lane," she whispered into his ear while nudging him.

He understood and gripped her hand tight, pulling both of them onto what remained of the chip production conveyer. A screech accompanied the leap as a pair of pincers ground against Bunnie's metal feet. Shadow himself had to dodge a piece of metal pipe thrown at him. He turned away after the first few steps; looking back at rows of bared metal teeth could throw him off balance. His ears briefly registered low mechanical howls escaping their speakers, and filtered them out as gibberish.

Leap, leap. Bunnie was heavier than a regular Mobian thanks to her roboticized limbs, so she was slowing Shadow down a bit. He felt the line shake below her steps. The line went up gradually, and several more leaps brought them onto the first level, just below the assembly floor. Robians here turning to face and even try to chase them, but none was fast enough to catch up. Several leaps later, Shadow had to stop himself. The lane was ending abruptly, with no visible ways upwards in sight. How on Mobius were the chips getting there?

Something tremendous seemed to be going on above their heads. Roaring of the angular machine echoed through the factory, followed by series of clanking noises and Sally's occasional yelps. By the sound of it, several metal giants were clashing there, and it was a miracle Sally still managed to stay alive while being caught in between them.

"The elevators," Bunnie pointed to the right when she discovered the way up - several big elevators in the far wall. And immediately added, "No way. They'll cut the power off, and we'll be stuck. We'll have to climb there by ourselves."

"I can Chaos Con-" Shadow began, indeed reaching for the Chaos Stone.

"Hold it, sugah-hog. You'll need it when we get Sally."

The hedgehog felt something sharp dig into his left ankle and give it a powerful tug. Before he knew it, Bunnie's fingers slipped out of his hand, and he landed onto his back next to the lane. A robot cat jumped onto his chest and pinned him down, claws digging into the hedgehog's neck. Shadow gasped as metal tore through his sensitive skin, and tried to push the Robian off of him. The metal head snapped back after his punch, but the grip wouldn't loose by a fraction.

"Capture Project Shadow!"

It was nothing like Nicole's gentle voice. Mechanical raspy mumble that sent chills down Shadow's spine came from the robot's head. The hedgehog barely registered the words; claws digging into his flesh were his main concern at the moment. He tried to squirm out of the grip and hissed when it only increased the pain in his neck. Shadow squeezed the metal fingers with one hand as he struggled to reach the Chaos Stone with the other one. If only he could take it out...

"Get off..." he breathed.

"Capture Project Shadow! Capture Project-"

Some incredible force swept the cat away. From the loud clanking noise Shadow could tell Bunnie put all her force into that roundabout kick; the Robian flew into the insides of some machine and didn't move anymore. Shadow jumped to his feet, wincing a little and clutching his throat. The gash was bound to disappear very soon, but even his advanced healing abilities couldn't ease the pain so quickly.

"Move it, sugar-hog!" She gestured him to follow her.

There were more robotisized Mobians in their way. Knowing that they still could be possibly returned to their original state someday, Shadow was reluctant to harm them beyond repair with Chaos Spears. Bunnie kept dealing more kicks, but it was obvious she was holding back a great deal as well. She reached the oval pit first and disappeared from his view, hopping onto the higher level in one movement.

He tried to follow her and yelped when another robot grabbed his hover skate from behind. His motion was broken, and his body was sent tumbling down into the pit. Several levels flashed past him before his chest rammed into a thick rod protruding from the wall. Out of breath in an instant, Shadow could only grasp the rod frantically with his palms and knees to stop his fall, and gaze into the hole below him.

All of it was before his eyes now. Rows, rows, rows, so many of them he wouldn't even start counting. All of them had stopped by then, machinery wheezing to a stop; scraping of hundreds metal feet and sirens' distant wailing were there to fill the silence. For a second, he thought the structure was more than just plain chip production plant; there were way too many levels inside. The lowest ones were clad in darkness, and all Shadow knew was that he didn't at all want to fall in there.

The Robian who tried to stop him, apparently, lost its balance as well, for now it whooshed past Shadow with a shrill screech. At the moment it was the last of his concerns, though. Wide-eyed, he watched the sea of metal below him stir into action. Unlike SWATbots, worker robots didn't have weapons built into their arms, but they were many and they could cooperate. Like ants gathering to get to something out of a single ant's reach, they started to form a robot pyramid to get a hold of the hedgehog stuck between two levels. Their simultaneous cry to capture project Shadow turned into a low-pitched buzz.

Bunnie, he remembered. He had to go up. Shadow wasted a precious moment to take a quick look above his shoulder and measured his chances of getting there by jumping. No... wouldn't do. He reached for the Chaos Stone tucked in his head quills.

"Capture Project Shadow."

The voice nearly made him let go of the rod. Right there, just below him, was another roboticized Mobian, a hedgehog this time. Probably the one he had seen from the loading hall. As their eyes met, it reached forward to grasp Shadow; sharp claws made a scratch on his cheek.

"Capture-"

"Chaos Control!"

Here he was, back to the assembly level at last. Sally and Bunnie was nowhere to be seen, but he could guess they were somewhere inside that vast crowd of robots. Above them was towering the angular excavator-like machine from earlier, turning about with a constant grinding noise and using its boom to deal blows at someone below.

"Sally! Bunnie!" Shadow called, his voice barely audible in the noise.

He jumped onto a pile of boxes and from there he finally saw them, and sure, they were in the middle of the metal carousel, with the Princess fighting back several Robians and Bunnie struggling to make her way to their leader. The machine made another swiping movement; being sluggish thanks to its size, it failed to get Sally, but very conveniently knocked off the robots she was fighting. It looked like SWATbots were not the only victims of Robotnik's mechanical _genius_...

Knowing that her luck couldn't last forever, Shadow sent the first surge of energy towards the machine. The light flashed through the bars of the beams, causing no harm to the contraption at all. The machine shifted, preparing for another attack; the beam rose, hitting Shadow square in the chest on its wake. He collided with the wall with an _umph_, somehow managing to keep hold of the gem in his hand.

Meanwhile, Bunnie finally made it Sally and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her away from the battle. Near the door leading to the loading hall, walls became narrower, leaving little room for the machine to maneuver. Given the pace at which it was obliterating its own allies with the claw at the end of the beam, it was soon bound to find itself fighting alone.

And it did. When the last robot fell, the beam lowered almost remorsefully, and the engine came to a stop. Two Mobian girls exchanged glances and moved towards the cabin slowly, expecting a surprise attack. It came in a form of the cab's door opening with a _whoosh_.

"Need a lift, ladies?"

"What?" She stared at Sonic beaming at her from the operator's seat. Its previous occupant lay by the hero's feet, now being a mere pile of scrap metal. "How did you..?"

"Used a shortcut," he winked. "And took up this guy's post right after he crushed the door. Sorry I couldn't stop him earlier, Bunnie."

"S'alright, hun," the rabbit said in a weak voice.

"We're cool, then." With those words, Sonic finally jumped out of the cabin. The broken robot followed him and formed a metal mess on the floor. "Now, where's our free first-class ticket to Knothole?"

"Shadow?" Sally asked after a tiny pause. "Well... you threw him into the wall."

"Me? Whoops," Sonic addressed a shy smile to his dark twin who had just detached himself from the wall. "Didn't notice you there, buddy. You really should watch where you go, y'know."

The black hedgehog glared at him from afar.

"Oh, come on," Sally grasped Sonic's arm. "You'll settle this when we are back at Knothole. Or are you up for another round? I can say another wave of them is incoming."

"I think not. I mean, it was fun and we have a job already done, but home is home and stuff like that."

"About 'job done'..." said Sally, and Sonic's smirk disappeared in an instant. "Can't say it was a success for us. But you are right: we better head home right now."

"Sure thing. Can't wait to hear how it went."

Shadow was already beside them, glaring a hole in Sonic's fur, knowing precisely that the hit was not a coincidence. The blue hedgehog returned the inimical look, as if saying: _'If you were the one who screwed it up, I'll know it and make you regret it.'_

"Chaos Control."

.w.

_M7, control center_

_September 8th, 3236_

_Afternoon_

"...Of course, it was Charles who told Sonic about a roundabout way to the factory. When we returned to Knothole, Sonic told me what he heard from him. Nothing new, actually: all SWATbot groups were given an order to look for a black hedgehog, but there were no info on where he came from," Sally said, sitting back in her chair and stretching her shoulders. "It's as if Robotnik himself didn't know Shadow's story."

"Or decided to keep it secret even from his own computers," guessed Tails from behind her. "What if he could see there was a spy in Robotropolis?"

"Oh, Tails..."

She spun in her chair to have a look at the fox prodigy. The kid occupied the table in the middle of the room, studying two pairs of melted sneakers lying before them. The base had severe problems with materials suitable for his purpose, so it was no wonder he looked so desperately lost in his work.

The Princess bit her lower lip, once again weighting the changes in Tails' personality she was noticing. Compared to his vibrant happy self she knew back at Knothole, this Tails was more quiet, more reserved, more thoughtful, more... cynical? She wondered whether it was the right word to describe his mood.

One thing was in common, though. This Tails was just as scared as his previous self had been.

She approached him and hugged him briefly, patting him between big triangular ears. "You should have a rest, Tails. I'm sure it's better to solve such a problem with your head fresh."

It was not meant as an insult or accusation, but Tails lowered his head abruptly. "Yes, but- I have to do it, see? Without his sneakers, Sonic will... I mean... you know."

Sally knew. With every day spent without his speed, Sonic's mood were becoming more and more unbearable. Even she caught herself not wanting to stand his presence at times.

"Plus, we need to do something about that machine in the forest," Tails continued. "And quickly."

"...About that machine," Sally said, letting go of Tails and leaning against the table. Her fingers drummed against her upper arms. "I still think we should visit Robotropolis first and deal with the machine later."

"Yes, I know. We still don't know what we're up against, but we have to know it, and besides, the machine digs in the wrong part of the forest," the fox said, repeating Sally's earlier words loosely. "Just, letting SWATbots do what they wish in _our_ Great Forest... it feels so wrong."

"I know." She felt it, too: their home was in danger, and nobody was there to protect it. And yet she couldn't afford simply rushing to the rescue like the old days, having to painstakingly calculate their every step instead. More than that, she also had to convince the rest of her team to do the same, and she didn't seem to be very good at it so far. "Don't give up, Tails. No matter what he did, Robotnik hasn't won the war yet."

"Oh yeah," came Sonic's voice from the door. "Whoever is winning this war right now, it's definitely not Ro-butt-nik."

He was standing in the door frame, legs and arms crossed, expression unreadable. For someone who had had mere several hours of sleep after a tense battle, he seemed to be in pretty good shape. Sally sighed internally; she secretly hoped Shadow would be the first one to give up and replace Tails on duty.

"Your spirit is an inspiration to us all as always, Sonic," she said, returning to her seat in front of a row of monitors.

"Oh, hi, Sonic," Tails rose from the table, apologetic look on his face.

After a brief and awkward chat with his younger brother, Sonic stood behind Sally. She could almost feel his puzzled look jump from her head to the columns of numbers before her and back. "You don't mind Shadow being alone with himself now, do you?" the chipmunk asked casually.

Sonic remembered his habit of trying to follow his twin wherever he went when both of them were not on duty. He just couldn't help it; the dark hedgehog wasn't trustworthy enough to disappear out of their sight like this. "He snores like crazy. There's only so much of it my poor ears can take."

"What?" She sounded incredulous and amused at the same time. "Come on, we both know Shadow doesn't sleep."

"That's just what he wants us to believe."

"Oh, please," she almost laughed.

A small pause occurred.

"Any progress yet, Sal?"

"Not really," she replied without turning away from the screens. "I had an idea on where other Magnacore stations might be based on current SWATbot activity in the Great Forest, but it didn't seem to work."

"Aw man. And what about all those computers in this one?"

"Still not much," the Princess sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. The screen flickering made them hurt after so many hours of work. "Right now, I can say for sure they were used to store and process a lot of data."

"What data?"

"No idea. It was corrupted purposefully so nobody could learn what it was about. I'm afraid I might not even be able to recover it at all. We are lucky that I and Tails managed to restore the station's control systems- they were also dysfunctional. All I can say for now is that Robotnik considered this data too important to keep in Robotropolis where we could discover it during our raids."

The hedgehog muttered something under his breath. Sally thought she could make out words 'Robotnik' and 'jerk', but she didn't feel like asking him to repeat.

He watched her go back to work while fighting an intense inner battle. It was clear he owned her an apology, even though he felt hurt and annoyed rather than guilty. Shadow could do without any, but Sally was a completely different matter. She tried hard to keep their small team going, and the hero had a very vague feeling that his own behavior hadn't been that much of a reward for her. It's not like he could do anything about it, though; it was the position he had been forced in to blame.

In any case, something had to be said right there and then.

"Look, if you feel like apologizing, go ahead," he said. "I can understand it, and I promise I won't laugh."

Sally looked back at him, not entirely understanding his words. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, today. It wasn't cool of you to lash out on me like this for messing up the whole mission. I was really worried if you could make it through. So, yeah, a 'sorry' should do it."

The chipmunk just watched him address a tiny smile to her, not knowing whether she wanted to laugh or throw a tantrum.

Her gaze jumped towards Tails in search for support, and she gasped quietly. "Oh my gosh. Tails!" No use: the kid was already dead to the world, nuzzling Sonic's sneaker in his sleep.

"Poor guy," whispered Sonic. He wasn't smiling anymore. "I'll get him to the living block. It's my turn anyway."

The kid didn't wake up when his older brother lifted him, and only murmured something in his sleep. Compassion prickled Sonic's heart; he wanted to cry to the heavens how much Tails didn't deserve to go through this hell. None of them did, but the fox was too young to compare the mental damage. The thought made helplessness even more unbearable; the hedgehog's contracted, squeezing the sheets on the spare bed in the living block. His brother lay on it, in a section separate from Shadow's, and Sonic hurried back into the passage. He needed fresh air desperately, but M7 could offer him none.

After he was done, Sonic returned to the control room and took the seat Tails had occupied. His sneakers were still on the table, and he stared at them blankly. Of course he realized they couldn't be used anymore, but... he just still remembered how exciting it was to be fast again.

"Is there anything I can help with, Sal?" he asked randomly, looking away sharply.

"No... I don't think so. I'm sure there is a way to put all the pieces together, and I just need to think a little bit harder. But thanks for offering, anyway."

Sonic knew she missed her supercomputer the most at the moments like this one. Sally was bright, but two bright heads- well, a head and a collection of chips- could work much more effectively than one. It wasn't his fault that Nicole was missing in the first place, but this thought didn't help the hedgehog feel better at all.

"I hate being useless like this," he mumbled.

"Well, we all could see this." Sally turned with her chair to observe him thoughtfully, though she didn't feel like kicking up another quarrel. "You should have more faith in Tails, Sonic. He is a smart kid, and he will figure out how to fix you up. Oh, and Speaking of use; if you feel bored, you can take these papers and some food to level two," she pointed to a bunch of paper prepared on the other side of the table.

A tiny spark of amusement ignited in his black eyes. "Aww, come on. Don't you know how jealous Shadow will get because of that?"

"And this is exactly why you will do it."

"Reading my mind right here, Sal."

He grabbed the papers and whooshed out of the room- not at his trademark sonic speed, but still too fast to be followed with a gaze. Boxes with nutritious pills were heaped at the entrance of the living block, next to a tiny artificial fountain of water. Sonic filled a glass bottle in it and then took several small sips himself, wincing at the strong chemical flavor. He didn't want to wake Tails with the noise of the elevator, so he again used the ladder to get upstairs.

This time he crossed the main dock and entered a spacious passage at the other end. He went past abandoned cargo bays until there was a small room fenced in thick metal bars on his right. An arsenal in the past, it had exactly one occupant at the moment.

"Yo, 'Botnik. How are you today?"

No reply came. Next to the farthest wall lay a mattress with an ugly and massive figure on top. By the look and the sound of it, the person was deep asleep and wouldn't wake up to some hedgehog's calls.

"Ah, come o-on." Sonic kicked the bars, earning exactly zero reaction. "Tell me I didn't come here just to see you have a nap."

Robotnik's loud snoring suggested he had.

"...Whatever," the hero murmured, pushing the food and the papers into the improvised cell. Back then, the three of them were surprised to discover that Robotnik ate nutritious pills as well- the Freedom Fighters had believed his diet was mostly oil- and having paper and pencil was sort of the only means of entertainment they allowed him. "That was so much fun, duh..."

It was so unfair. Suspicious, too; it couldn't be a coincidence that the doctor showed most activity when Shadow was near his prison. Sonic shook his head and headed back to the loading dock.

He only made a few steps when a strange feeling crept up his back; the feeling of being watched. The hedgehog slowed down, pretending to examine his feet, and then turned back sharply. Through the bars he could see the same silhouette, still unmoved, still asleep. The feeling was gone as fleetly as it had come.

Sonic looked at a ceiling-mounted camera turned towards the ex-arsenal, shrugged and went away.


End file.
